3
As the most challenging legislative session in
memory for public education drew to a close, it
reminded me of a game of tic-tac-toe that once
again ends in a draw. You don’t really win, but you
don’t lose.
One adage of longtime Statehouse observers is
that if you bet on the “Nothing” horse, you’ll win 90
percent of the time – and the “Nothing” horse raced
home a winner on the pension reform issue. The
governor said he will call the four legislative leaders
back to Springfield soon to “forge a comprehensive
pension reform agreement.”
Probably the biggest “win” for education was the
General Assembly restoring General State Aid and
Transportation for FY14 to this year’s level. Of
course, that still funds GSA at only 89 percent and
Transportation at 64 percent. But the governor’s
proposal was to lower the funding for GSA to as little
as 82 percent and to virtually wipe out the
Transportation budget by prorating it as low as 19
percent. So it not only could have been worse, it
could have been catastrophic for many school
districts.
Avoiding a cost shift for local school districts was
another good thing, but that is a subject that is
certain to resurface in the future according to Rep.
Elaine Nekritz, who served as Speaker Michael
Madigan’s point person on the issues of the cost
shift and pension reform.
A cost shift for universities and community
colleges did pass the House with a bare minimum of
60 votes, but got shot down in the Senate, where it
fell seven votes short of the 30 necessary. The
Illinois School Management Alliance was opposed to
a cost shift, but we did negotiate with House
leadership and demanded that certain items be a
part of any cost shift legislation for public school
districts, including:
A slow, predictable implementation schedule of
½ of 1 percent per year;
The ability to use the IMRF/Social Security levy
for pension cost of reciprocal systems outside of the
tax caps;
A much stronger voice on the TRS Board as well
as the ability for that board to approve or disapprove
any changes the General Assembly might make to
the benefits package; and
Most importantly, restoring local control over
whether to implement certain unfunded mandates.
The pension reform maneuvering was perhaps
the most intriguing political chess match in some
time at the Statehouse. While some described it as
a showdown between the state’s two most powerful
Democrats – House Speaker Michael Madigan and
Senate President John Cullerton – I saw it a little
differently.
I saw it first and foremost as a philosophical
difference of opinion. I think Cullerton truly believes
that Senate Bill 1 was unconstitutional because it
unilaterally would have imposed cuts to the pension
benefits of employees and retirees. Madigan, on the
other hand, wanted the largest savings possible and
was willing to gamble on the fact that the Illinois
Supreme Court would factor the state’s financial
situation into its final decision and ultimately would
have granted “police powers” to the state to
circumvent the constitution.
The fact that Madigan refused to call Cullerton’s
Senate Bill 2404 for a vote in the House meant that
no pension reform measure would pass. How that
situation will play out over the course of the next few
months is anybody’s guess. While Cullerton and the
vast majority of Senators held to their belief that SB
1 was unfair and unconstitutional, the pressure from
Madigan, the governor and many editorial boards
will continue to be intense.
I would analyze this session as one in which
public education held its own and survived. Some
would say that compared to the overall financial
situation in our state, maybe that’s not so bad.
My response is that especially in the worst of
times, public education is the best investment that
can be made in the future of our state. So we will
continue our efforts, including the Vision 20/20
project that kicks off this month for IASA to develop
a roadmap for the future of public education in
Illinois.
I want to thank you for your help and support
during these most challenging times, especially to
those of you who took the time and made the effort
to talk with your local legislators. Those personal
connections really do make a difference. When we
work together, IASA is a powerful voice for public
education.
Message from the Executive Director:
By Dr. Brent Clark
Public education holds line for FY 14
